This is a 1915 American-LaFrance Type 25 Straight Frame Aerial Ladder Truck. It has a 65-foot two-section spring raised aerial ladder. The front-end configuration if the Type 25 placed the driver on the right side of the engine compartment and the officer on the left side. The engine sat between the driver and the officer in what now commonly is called the "doghouse."

About this creation

American-LaFrance offered four different versions of buckboard style straight frame aerial ladder trucks. These were the Types 16, 18, 25 and 26. These all were offered with aerial ladders in lengths of 65, 75 or 85 feet. All looked very much alike.

The Type 16 was a hybrid gas-electric. It had a four-cylinder gasoline engine that provided power to a General Electric standard railway generator. This, in turn, powered the General Electric standard railway-type electric motors that were mounted within each of the four wheels of the apparatus. Only 16 Type 16 ladder trucks were built.

The next model was the Type 18, which was introduced in 1913. These had a six-cylinder 105 horsepower gasoline engine. This provided power to the front wheels through a conventional transmission. Only 25 Type 18 trucks were built. All served in New York City.

The Type 25 was almost identical to the Type 18. According to American-LaFrance records only thirteen Type 25 aerials were ordered and apparently only twelve were completed between 1913 and 1917. The Type 26 was very much like the Type 25, except that it was powered by a smaller four-cylinder 75 horsepower engine. Only five Type 26 ladders were built.